Note to European Union: Say NO to Syria

The Europeans should take note of the regime's attitude toward the many treaties it has already signed.

By ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN
Assad nice 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Assad nice 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Even as the civilized world condemned Russia's invasion of Georgia, other countries have rushed to praise it. Among these is Syria, whose strongman Bashar Assad - on a recent visit to Moscow - proclaimed his support for Russia's actions while eagerly shopping for advanced conventional weapons and announcing his willingness to deploy Russian missile systems in Syrian territory. Yet, European allies appear ready to reward Syria's belligerent regime with an "Association Agreement" that would provide Assad's regime with eagerly sought political legitimacy and material assistance. These developments are worrisome indeed. Syria continues to sponsor such Islamist terrorist organizations as Hizbullah and Hamas, which undermine the stability and security of many countries in the Middle East. Its assistance to these groups remains unbroken despite repeated United Nations Security Council resolutions, as well as strenuous efforts by the U. and other countries, including France, to force the regime to stop. But French officials now appear to be reversing course, as we saw last week during President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Syria. MUCH OF the regime's activity has been focused on Lebanon, which Syria has long considered a client state and where it deals ruthlessly with those who challenge its authority. The Syrian regime has long refused to cooperate in bringing to justice those responsible for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri, a strident critic of Syria's intervention in Lebanon, despite a United Nations Security Council resolution requiring it to do so. Given that the available evidence points to Syrian complicity in the Hariri murder, this is not surprising. Prior to signing any agreement or further normalizing relations with Damascus, the Europeans should take note of the regime's attitude toward the many treaties it has already signed and the laundry list of violations of its international commitments. In 2005, Syria agreed to abide by the provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean Code of Conduct on Countering Terrorism, which committed it to actively prevent terrorists from acquiring money and weapons, disrupt their networks, and deny them asylum or safe haven. Instead, the evidence shows that the Syrian regime's provisions of arms, funding, and safe haven to Islamist terrorist organizations remain uninterrupted. EVEN MORE troubling is Syria's record on nuclear proliferation. As a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Syria has pledged to never acquire nuclear weapons and to do all in its power to prevent the technology and materials necessary for these weapons to reach other countries. However, despite vehement denials from Damascus, the evidence clearly shows that Syria was nearing completion of a nuclear reactor built with assistance from North Korea when Israel conducted its strike in September 2007. US intelligence officials have publicly stated that this reactor, had it become operational, would have been capable of producing enough plutonium to build at least two nuclear weapons within a year. Damascus continues to bar inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency from further examining the site to determine the extent of Syria's nuclear activities. Sound familiar? It is. Syria is following Iran's approach to nuclear weapons. The world has done far too little to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions. We must learn from those mistakes. The U.S. has called on France and other EU member-states to force Damascus to grant IAEA inspectors full access to all Syrian nuclear facilities. Our European allies must increase the pressure on Syria if we are to thwart the regime's nuclear ambitions. European leaders should cease all further action toward an Association Agreement with Damascus. They must require that Syria verifiably end its interference in Lebanon, its support for Islamist terrorist organizations, and its pursuit of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and the means to deliver them. They must also clarify that this must be accomplished before Syria is treated as a responsible partner and included in the councils of the West. If Europe ignores the lessons of inaction and accommodation as it has with Iran and Russian aggression in Georgia, and chooses a similar path toward Syria, we may all soon regret it. The writer, a congresswoman from Florida, serves as the senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.